Which to use
“locks” and “lopes” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,810
- “locks” frequency rank
- #44,310
- “lopes” frequency rank
- 52120
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | locks | lopes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of lock | plural of lope |
Where the eye mixes locks and lopes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: locks vs lopes
A purely visual mix-up. locks (/lɒks/) and lopes (/loʊps/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52120, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
locks is recorded at frequency rank #7,810, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɒks/. lopes is at rank #44,310, tagged as anoun, pronounced /loʊps/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 52120, this pair ranks #159,717 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of locks vs lopes
Shared letters: los. Private to "locks": ck. Private to "lopes": ep.
"locks" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "lopes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "locks" for "lopes" ever safe?
Frequency check: "locks" vs "lopes" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "locks" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lopes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #159,717 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "locks" and "lopes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lope vs lopes". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #159,717 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.